


Duck and Pivot

by CandleIdea



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X, Rockman | Mega Man - All Media Types
Genre: Axl is more mature than he lets on, Axl is not baby he wants an apartment and justice, Canon-Typical Violence, Everyone is morally gray, Gen, Mentioned Original Character - Freeform, Minor Original Character, Not (totally) canon compliant, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Starts from MMX7, Swearing, There are frequent allusions to this original character but hes dead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:55:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27426781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CandleIdea/pseuds/CandleIdea
Summary: At the very start, Axl was a planner. Even from what little he remembers from before Red Alert, Axl had plans. Defecting from Red Alert wouldn't be easy, nor would killing them to keep them from killing others, but Axl had a great plan. Even so, some things just don't go how they should. Whatever, it was fine. Axl's best skill was his adaptability, after all.He just didn't plan on being arrested by the Maverick Hunters. And then becoming a Maverick Hunter himself.
Comments: 56
Kudos: 25





	1. Conflict on the Awoken Road

**Author's Note:**

> I've always loved the idea that Axl was much more scheming than he lets on in the games. After all, I imagine it's a lot of work to become a top assassin in a vigilante syndicate. That's not to say that Axl here is completely heartless or evil, but he's certainly not some sort of stray to be picked up off the street. 
> 
> This chapter is sort of a test pilot to see how everything goes, so constructive criticism is welcome!

In hindsight, this was either the smartest or stupidest thing Axl had done to date. It was a little hard to decide, he thought, when he was dancing in between Mega Scorpio’s tail shots. It didn’t help that his Axl Bullets were still calibrated to those stupid gate locks and not actual enemies. So he was left with dashing his core out and slipping away to fix his guns. 

Wait, was that a Hunter?

No, Axl realized, that wasn’t just a Hunter; that was Zero, in all his pissed-off glory. Oh fuck.

“Outta the way, outta the way!!” He shouted, darting past Zero. A hard pull on his left wing caused him to still, nearly tripping over himself. Axl yanked his wing back and turned to glare at Zero. “Are you stupid?! You’re in danger if you just stand there! Get a move on!” Axl yelled. Hunter or not, it was ridiculous that Zero would rather stand in the middle of the Maverick-infested streets than, you know, getting the hell out of here?

Shit, Zero actually looked more pissed now. “Are you connected to this incident?”

Really? An interrogation? Now? ‘It might be best to play dumb for now, and keep my hand covered’ Axl thought. “Incident? What incident? Oh, here it comes!” He warned, narrowly avoiding Mega Scorpio’s bullets. “So I’ll be seeing ya!” He joked, dashing forward to the reflective, shot-resistant door. There wasn’t anything else to do, so Axl pulled out one of his Bullets and glanced around. Yeah, he had enough time to re-calibrate at least one of his poor Bullets. Then, he could finally shoot Mega Scorpio into smoldering scrap and bust down that door. 

Or maybe not, seeing as Zero was menacingly lumbering towards him, saber drawn. “You’ve got a lot of explaining to do.” He threatened, holding his white-hot saber to Axl’s neck. Out of the corner of his optics, Axl could see Mega Scorpio slowing crawling towards the edge of the street. “Okay, okay, but later! Right now I have to take care of that freak.” Axl conceded, just as Mega Scorpio came crashing down.

‘Wait, that’s right. My Bullets are still fucked.’ Axl realized. He looked between his guns and Zero, before creating a plan. “You’re Zero, so you should be able to take care of this, right? I’m Axl; call if you need help!” He said, jumping up to higher ground. Under normal circumstances, he would dip, but this was his mess, damn it! He wasn’t about to let some Maverick Hunter deal with his Red Alert. So, he quickly fixed up his Bullets and aimed for Mega Scorpio’s tail. As expected, Zero was holding his own perfectly fine, but Axl could do better. A continuous stream of energy bullets demolished that tail in seconds, and Axl then dove down to get at the Reploid’s wire-full underbelly. Between him and Zero, it took less than a minute. 

Axl was about to walk off to his planned safe house, until a hand dug into his scuffed shoulder pad. “Now, about that explanation…” 

Well today just had to go from bad to absolute shit, huh? Not only was Axl in Maverick Hunter custody, being escorted by Zero, his dumb kid shtick had worked almost too well. It was to be expected, really. In Axl’s line of work, it’s almost necessary to be a good actor, unless he wanted his cover blown. Now, though, Zero thought of him as some violent, over-eager child who needed constant chastisement and supervision. His busted voice module really wrapped the whole “I’m a kid please don’t shoot me” package together, even if it made him internally cringe every time he spoke.

“I’m not gonna run off, so could you take this thing off? It makes me feel like a criminal…” Axl complained, adding a little pout. ‘Earn that acting award, Axl’ he mentally urged himself.

“”Feel” like a criminal?” Zero replied, sneering.

“Err, okay. Maybe what I did was wrong...” Gee, thanks Maverick Hunter Zero. Obviously, Axl knew that what Red Alert did was hardly legal, but to say that most of the stuff the Maverick Hunters themselves did was above board would be a stretch. Not after what they did to the NewGen Research Lab. Actually, Axl reflected, was anyone still alive from that? Axl couldn’t remember. 

“But we made, like, a perfect team, don’tcha think? When we kicked that big dude’s butt, I thought ‘yeah, we would make a great combo!’” That wasn’t a complete lie, to Axl’s own surprise. Axl really didn’t want to work with Zero in any capacity, but when they were fighting, it really felt like Axl was back with Red Alert. With Red, or Warfly, or hell even Platine, when he was alive. 

Zero didn’t look very impressed with Axl’s violent compliment, as they walked in complete silence until they got to the main gate. 

“So where’s X been lately? I haven’t seen him around.” Axl meant it as an innocent question. Internally, however, he knew it was a quick jab at the Maverick Hunter’s blue boy. Everyone heard of X’s retirement. Hell, Red Alert was formed during the ensuing power vacuum it caused. It was something Axl could respect, if X hadn’t immediately started lecturing everyone on never using violence. It was even worse when the Hunters started trying the ‘less-violent’ tactics. The biggest catastrophe to come out of it was the various hostage negotiations, where the Hunters let Mavericks take innocent people hostage to avoid an altercation.

Axl remembered some of the ‘roids he rescued from that ordeal. He couldn’t ever forget the glassy blankness in their eyes, like they were already wiped from their shells.

“Sit tight. He’s just beyond this door.” Zero replied, and Axl’s core dropped like a stone.


	2. High Chord Stage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> X finds Axl a cocky, reckless, and overeager child. Axl finds X a whole lot more. Signas finds them both tiresome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm glad this story is well-received, and I'm very excited to write more of it. I'll try to post new chapters either Sunday or Monday, but please don't be too mad if they come a day or two early ;). As always, please comment if you'd like, and constructive criticism is welcome!

Axl’s optics flicked up, finally taking in his surroundings. To his left was a Reploid woman, wearing a headset over her blonde hair. A navigator, maybe. The woman caught his gaze, and her confusion soon morphed into an oddly suspicious glare. ‘Yiiiikes, moving on,’ Axl swiftly flicked his optics to the tall, grayish Reploid man. His was focused on the blue Reploid in front of Axl. The infamous X.

“So you’re the one who caused all this trouble.” X accused.

Axl shrugged, unfazed. “I guess so. I had no idea they’d send that kind of gear after us!” Axl retorted. He was expecting something, sure, being Red Alert’s top Reconnaissance and Assassination agent. Mega Scorpio was an unlikely choice, given its rambling movement and slow attack speed. While it was powerful, it definitely wasn’t the kind of machine you would send to capture someone alive. Axl pondered a little, ‘it’s not like Red to want one of his own dead. If I still am one.’

X paused, before continuing. “Gear? Who’s after you?” 

“Red Alert. I left. Defected.” Axl confessed quietly, almost shamefully. His gaze drifted to the floor.

“Red Alert? You mean that gang of wannabe vigilantes?” The deep voice startled Axl, who quickly bristled at the accusation. Axl would have replied, had X not slammed his hand down on the desk, hard.

“Red Alert?! Do you know how much damage your interference has caused!” the retiree yelled. Axl tensed hard at the statement, shaking where he stood. ‘Red Alert was cleaning up your messes! We did what we had to, to keep people alive!’ Axl mentally ranted. However, he kept silent, kept his optics glued to the floor. He knew one mistake, and he would be back to living in the streets. 

“I...apologize for that.” Axl managed to spit out. “But I had to leave. As for what happened as a result-that’s the way it goes.” Axl nonchalantly added, keeping his tone carefully even.

“The way it goes?? Do you have any idea-” “Cool it, X.” The taller one cut off X’s fuming. ‘Good,’ Axl thought vindictively. ‘Let him be mad.’

“Alright, Axl. Why did you defect?”

Axl nodded. He hated the Hunters, but he could respect this Reploid’s unflappable demeanor. At the very least, Axl would answer this guy’s questions. He took a second to gather his thoughts. Axl could see it in X’s eyes, could see it in Zero’s. They wouldn’t understand, so caught up in their own pain. Couldn’t recognize the disaster that the Maverick Hunters contributed to. They didn’t know the people in the streets, being slowly killed by their own protectors, Maverick or not. Did X know that the homeless shelter was gone? That even when it was up, it was constructed with materials that would kill Reploids and humans alike? Axl knew. Axl lived in it, until it crumpled over him. He nearly died in the collapse if it hadn’t been for Red. It was only later that Axl found out that it had been demolished in favor of some fancy, new apartment building, and they hadn’t even bothered to evacuate the shelter. Did X and Zero know that businessman was who they fought for? That all of the Maverick Hunters fought for? All of Red Alert knew, and they hated it. So they fought to actually protect people. Killed known Mavericks, and those obviously corrupt with power. Started off just protecting their sector, until the more vulnerable ones needed protecting too. It wasn’t violence for violence’s sake, it was necessity. They weren’t beasts, but survivors.

But Axl couldn’t tell the Hunters that if he wanted to live. So he kept it simple, despite his minute trembling. “Red Alert...changed. They’re no better than murderers now. They used me. We used to only attack the bad guys, but not any more. I couldn’t take it. We aren’t hired thugs. We had ethics, principles! Not like this!” Axl explosively explained. 

After a long silence, Zero finally piped up. “They’re going to come for Axl, no doubt.” Shit, Axl forgot he was there. That was true, though. Axl knew it from the moment he arranged everything. After all, it was one thing to lose some troops after a sour mission. It was another thing entirely when a high-ranking member intended to rat them out to the Hunters, bargain for immunity, then fuck off to Monsteropolis for the rest of their life. Of course Red Alert would come for him, if nothing else but to keep him from spilling. At least, that’s what that creepy ‘professor’ bastard wanted. Axl was fairly certain that if he wanted to leave, Red would have let him. 

The tall Reploid nodded at Zero, before turning to X and the woman. “This is our chance. Red Alert has caused far too much trouble.” Axl winced internally. ‘Whatever happens,’ Axl contemplated, ‘I have to be the one to end this. I have to.’

X returned to fuming, or maybe he hadn’t stopped. “How can you say that?! If we fight, we'll fall right into their hands! We can't allow this madness to continue.”

Axl rolled his shoulders back, and fixed his gaze on X. “I know what you mean, X, but we can't talk them out of this. Sometimes fighting is the only choice. Trust me, they aren’t going to back down.” Axl calmly rebuked. 

X seemed offended by Axl’s confidence, and glared hotly back at Axl. “That's quite enough! You need to back off and pay the dues for your crimes!” The look in X’s eyes told Axl that he expected the assassin to falter, as if Axl hadn’t already expected that. Instead, Axl stood tall, just like Stonekong taught him.

The staring contest was cut short by a sharp noise coming from the transmission notification. Everyone turned to the navigator Reploid. “Alia, what happened?” asked X. 

“It’s an unidentified transmission. I’m feeding it to the monitor.” the woman, Alia, replied. 

It took a few seconds, but finally the image faded in. Dull, red and purple armor, blonde hair slicked back. One grey eye locked straight onto Axl’s green ones. It was someone who Axl once revered, but now only felt pity and rage for.

“You getting this, Hunters?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this universe, I wouldn't say that the Maverick Hunters have a squeaky clean reputation. Some of the top ranking bureaucrats have been complicit in or outright arrested in some hefty controversies. Not to say all Maverick Hunters are bad, but Axl does have good reason to distrust them. Of course, Red Alert also has some dirt on their hands, even if Axl finds them preferable. But no one tries to justify those actions, at least in Axl's mind.


	3. Bright-Eyes and No-Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red kindles a new war, and leaves Axl drowning. The Hunters might have just left him there, if Axl wasn't good at going with the flow.

Seeing Red on the huge monitor made Axl briefly rethink his plan. If Red did what Axl thought he would do, then Axl would have his spot secured in the Hunter’s Base. Any Reploid with half a chip wouldn’t give Axl up easily, with his abilities and knowledge of Red Alert. On the other hand, if Red tried to bargain with the Hunters, especially with something like civilian hostages, then the Hunters would be forced to forfeit Axl. The thought of Red going after innocent people chilled Axl to his frame, but that’s why he left in the first place, wasn’t it? Because Red had started going after innocent people, in some strange attempt to power up Red Alert’s higher members.

Currently, Red’s attention was focused on X, Zero, and the gray Reploid. Axl wasn’t really paying attention to Red’s ongoing monologue, until he gestured to Axl.

“...So how about this? Like you, we are Hunters. We've trashed our share of Mavericks. So how about a duel? A duel to determine who the real Maverick Hunters are. I'm sure you won't mind if we use the Mavericks that we've captured so far. So, the last one standing wins! If we lose, we'll surrender Axl to you. And if we win? Well... We'll leave that to your imagination! “

The assassin robot relaxed minutely. Red attacking the Hunters practically solidified this part of his plan. That was, until X finally piped up. “You've got to be kidding! Axl has nothing to do with us. We won't fight the likes of you for his sake!” X cried, enraged.

“Well, pretty big talker, for a retiree!” Red sneered. “We could care less about deadbeats like you. We just want Axl.” He continued, before returning his glare to Axl. In Red’s optic, the assassin thought he could still see the barely concealed concern directed at him. Instead of the threat, it was that concern, that care Red still had for him, that made Axl stiff as a board. Even after wrecking some of his crew, abandoning him for their rivals, Red still cared for Axl, huh? It made Axl wonder what the others thought of him, made him wonder what his partner would have thought of him.

A moment wavered between the two vigilantes, before Red continued. “Now you just sit tight, my boy. We’ll have you back in no time.” Red finished, sounding a touch less confident than previously, before throwing his head back and letting out his raucous laughter. The transmission cut out halfway through Red’s manic laughing. Immediately after, Alia pulled up a world map with signals all over it.

“They're already on the move. Mavericks are showing up across the map! I'm checking for damage now.” The navigator reported.

This was what Red Alert had come to? Did Red really have such a hairpin trigger, that just Axl leaving caused him to start an entire war? Axl felt guilt wash over him, pearly and cold, chilling him to his core. The iciness of it caused his thoughts to sink, stone heavy in his mind. The realization that not only had Axl killed blameless people, but now was responsible for an entire catastrophe, made his core feel like it would stall out all on its own. “I'm sorry,” he barely choked out, “this is all my fault…” It was true, wasn’t it? Maybe if Axl had just pushed Red further to listen to him, Red wouldn’t send out Red Alert against people. If the assassin just kept his mouth shut and changed Red Alert from the inside, maybe they wouldn’t be here.

“”Sorry?”” X seethed. “You’ve just enabled an entire gang of dangerous Reploids to cause who knows how many deaths and attacks against innocent people, and all you can say is “I’m sorry”?!” The blue Reploid began to yell. “Do you have any idea how many people could die? How many will die?” X began marching toward the shorter Reploid, until a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

Zero sighed from behind X. “Well, this is becoming a real mess.” He took his hand off X’s left shoulder and began walking down the hallway. The air was tense, and Axl kept his optics frightfully on X. Only the sound of Zero’s footprints down the halls rang out in the air. Everything was still, until Axl tentatively replied.

“X, you said I need to pay my dues, right? So, make me a Maverick Hunter. Just temporarily, so I can deal with Red Alert. I can do it on my own.” The navy Reploid quietly bargained.

X recoiled at the notion. “You have no business being a Hunter,” came the frigid, terse reply.

“I'm serious! It would be a perfect chance to make up for my wrongdoings.”

X was about to return to his righteous anger, until the gray Reploid cut in. “He’s right. Like I said, now is a perfect time to take out Red Alert. It’ll be much easier, now that we have Axl’s full cooperation.”

Axl was visibly relieved, until something hit him. “Uh, s-sir? How did you know my name? Before Red called, you called me Axl, but I never told you who I was.”

The tall Reploid nodded towards Axl. “You mentioned you were from Red Alert. No one’s ever gotten a good image of you, but several ex-members described someone of your appearance with Red and another Reploid, specifically mentioning an ‘X’ shaped scar across your bridge. Why is that, Axl? Why is it that nothing, not even highly advanced security cameras can pick up on you?”

Shit. Axl panicked a little, before sighing. “Uh, well, most security cameras can’t pick up close details like facial structure or serial number. Besides, I was mainly recruited for covert Reconnaissance missions, so I had to get good with disguises. Some makeup here, a new outfit there, and different hair and eye color make all the difference. Chances are, you probably caught me on tape, but it just didn’t look like me at the time. I, uh, guess that means I’m pretty good at my job, yeah?” He joked.

“Don’t get cocky with us, kid.” Zero replied, coming back with a couple of E-Tanks and his saber. “Anyways, these aren't run-of-the-mill criminals. They won't listen to reason. And even if Axl did go back, which he won't, would they stop their misdeeds? I don't think so.” He rumbled, handing X an E-Tank.

Axl smiled and nodded to Zero. “You're my hero! I knew you'd understand!” He thanked, earning an irate look from both Hunters.

“You can’t become a Hunter just like that, kid.” X warned.

Zero scoffed and walked lazily to the transporter. “We're not getting anywhere with this. I'm ready to go.”

Axl blanched. “Wh-hey, wait!”

Zero glanced back at Axl. “I'm going by myself. As for you... you can do as you please.”

Axl looked to where Zero was headed, before turning back to X. “X. If I stop all the bounty hunters, you’ve got to promise me you’ll let me fight Red Alert.”

X tossed Axl his bullets, before crossing his arms coolly. “Talk is cheap. Prove it to me, first.”

Axl smiled at X and waved, jogging towards the transporter. “Okay! I won’t let you down.” He promised, before disappearing with Zero.

X maintained his pose before sighing and sitting down, massaging the bridge of his nose. “Another pointless conflict has begun, Signas.” He muttered, disheartened. “We've made this mistake time and time again... Why must Reploids continue this accursed cycle of aggression?”

The tallest Reploid clasped X’s shoulder briefly, then crossed his own arms. “Don’t overthink this, X. This time, fighting is our only choice.”


	4. Street Scramble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mechaniloids invade a business sector of Abel City. It's up to Axl and Zero to deal with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for this being on hiatus, but finals were uhh stressful to say the least! On a different note, its a fight scene, which I have no idea how to write :/.

The early morning air of Abel City was chilly and dark. Snow hung in the air, illuminated by the city’s lights and the barely risen sun. The wind smelled of the city’s signature combination of exhaust and fresh coffee. If not for the screaming, Axl thought that it might have been a peaceful day. The entire sector was in chaos by the time Axl and Zero arrived. Mavericks swarmed the streets while attacking anything and everything in sight. People hid behind debris and buildings. Some unlucky few had been caught under the rubble, or were being crushed by the rogue mechaniloids. 

Before Axl could ask Zero about a plan, his partner had taken off like a bullet. Axl floundered briefly, but tossed himself into the fight with just as much enthusiasm. It was chaos the assassin wasn’t used to, usually relegated to infiltration. The best he could to was shoot down what he could, make sure no one got crushed, and push on towards Zero. No one told him if he was supposed to help these people, keep them here, or just hunt down the mavericks. The lack of direction or communication was irritating Axl to no end. 

The navy Reploid figured that assisting people would help in the long run. Currying the hunters favor, or at least X’s, might give Axl more wiggle room to end the fight and escape. Besides, he actually was trying to help people, even if just to make up for Red Alert. So he rescued as many people as he could, until he came across a human. He looked pained, with his arm crushed under a decimated ride chaser. The man seemed calm until he caught sight of Axl rushing over to him. His eyes went wide and he began struggling to get himself out from under the chaser.

“Whoa-hey, calm down! I’m going to get you out, alright.” Axl assured. The man still seemed scared, but stopped wriggling around. The ride chaser was heavy, and barely budged when Axl tried pushing it off. ‘I’m an infiltration Reploid, not a construction Mech,’ Axl groaned internally. After another failed attempt, he scanned around. There! Several Reploids huddled together, walking towards the cleared areas of the streets. “Hey, you!” Axl yelled, managing to get their attention. He recognized them as some of the Reploids he just helped. “Trenon, Chuck! Help me move this rider off of him! Annette, call for medical!”

The trio looked at each other before running over. Thankfully, none of them had anything worse than scratches. All three of them grimaced when they saw the human. “What do you need us to do?” Asked the stockier of the three. Chuck, if Axl recalled. 

"We need to hold this thing up while Trenon gets him out of the way.” Axl said. The two nodded and got into position. Chuck and Axl struggled to lift the chaser. After a few more failed attempts, Chuck turned to Axl.

“There’s no way we can get this thing off, kid. Damn thing’s just too heavy.”

Anything Axl was going to say was cut off by Annette’s shriek. Axl turned just in time to see a couple of Aperoids stomping towards them, with a gang of Crash Roadsters behind them. A plan kicked into Axl’s mind, and he drew his Bullets out. “Everyone behind me!” He barked.

Axl took aim at the Aperoids, focusing one gun on each of their knee joints, one on the right and the left. Both of them fell at the same time, opposite of each other, creating a large barrier between the Reploids and the Roadsters. He could hear a cheer and sighs of relief get drowned out by snorts and roaring engines. A Roadster had reared back and began jumping over the Aperoids tangled legs. Only one could jump over the corpses. Before anyone could react, Axl had shot it dead. Another one leaped up and met a stream of bullets. More and more jumped, and they littered the street just the same. 

Axl relaxed after the rumbling of engines died down. The Aperoids would create a roadblock between the Reploids and Mavericks. He turned back to the ride chaser, then to the Aperoids. Axl gave each corpse one copy shot, then tucked his Bullets away. 

“Alright, one more try! I’m all warmed up now.” Axl said, turning to Chuck. The older Reploids chuckled before getting back into position. With the Aperoid’s copy data, Axl had less trouble heaving the chaser off the human’s arm. The man scrambled to get away from it with Trenon’s help. With the human out from under it, Chuck and Axl set the ride chaser upright again. 

“Oh God, thank you. I thought I was going to die,” the human panted. 

Axl waved it off. “Hey, it’s no problem. Not like I could’ve just left you there. Now, what’s your name? And can you walk?”

The human nodded. “Louin. I can walk, I think.”

“Great! Can you guys take him with you? Medics should probably be over there by now.”

“Oh, of course!” Annette said. “Thank you again, Axl.”

Axl waved as they thanked him again and walked off. Honestly, what was he supposed to do? Axl didn’t think it particularly mattered. He was sure Zero would be mad at him for being so far behind. With an irritated noise, Axl kicked the ride chaser. To his surprise, it hummed to life and began hovering. His eyes lit up and he scoffed in excitement. With this, he could catch up to Zero in no time! Ride chasers were notorious for having a ridiculously low learning curve, which was great as Axl had barely ever driven one. With a giddy shrug, Axl jumped on and sailed down the road. He figured that if anyone asked, he could say that he had secured the area and needed to catch up with Zero. 

Attacking was actually simultaneously easier and harder than running. On one hand, Axl had the element of surprise. On the other hand, it was hard to steer and aim at the same time. Oh well, he was making progress as far as he knew. Even with frequent rescuing stops, Axl was sweeping his way through. 

He followed the trail of destroyed Mechaniloids and scrapped vehicles. Finally, he could see a cluster of Mushadroyds up ahead of him. Given the loud fighting and their formation, Axl figured that they were probably up against Zero. One died to a brutal stab from a saber, and fell from the group. 

‘Shit, there’s no way my Bullets are gonna get through that armor.’ Axl thought. He got off the ride chaser and ran. Hiding behind a close building, the assassin fired a copy shot and assimilated the DNA data of the fallen Mushadroyd. In a bright flash of light, his A-Trans automatically activated. His plating twisted and expanded over his shifting frame. His helmet split and lengthened, morphing his face with it. Axl’s legs lengthened too, though that was much more painful. His Bullets clicked together and morphed into a long odachi. The transformation was quick, but disorienting when it finally finished. 

A quick glance told Axl that Zero was far from done. The hunter had only slain two other Mushadroyds, while he had about six remaining. When Zero had his back to him, Axl raced over. The other Mushadroyds barely reacted to his presence, even when he killed one. _That_ caught Zero’s attention. Unfortunately, Axl had desperately not wanted Zero’s attention. To save his cover, he weakly slashed at Zero. The skilled hunter had parried and was about to attack, before being struck by the other Mushadroyds. Turning to the ones at his back, Axl was free to slice another. Zero finished off one, leaving three left, one next to Axl and two in front of Zero. 

Zero turned and slashed at the two, before turning to Axl and trying to cleave him in two. Axl dodged and parried, relying on the Mushadroyd’s data for moves. Zero growled, but focused again on the two at his back. Axl quickly killed the last Mushadroyd next to him just in time. As the body hit the ground, Axl canceled his A-Trans. The assassin quickly dashed behind the remaining Mavericks, pelting them with energy bullets. 

The Mechaniloids turned to face Axl, giving Zero a window. He took it, and severed the Mushadroyds clean in two. Internally, Axl screamed at the thought of that being him two seconds ago. He internally screamed even louder when Zero fixed his glare on him.

“Uh, hey Zero!” 

Zero’s evil glare sharpened. He crossed his arms. “Where were you?”

“I was helping people out!”

“Really?” Zero asked incredulously. 

“Wh-yes!” Axl said defensively. “Ask anyone!”

Zero didn’t retort, instead favoring to answer his ringing comms. He answered in a grunt, patiently listening to the other side. After a minute, he spoke up. “Alia. Can you confirm who helped those civilians?” He paused. “Hm. Alright. We’re on our way back.” He turned back to Axl. “You’re in luck. Someone vouched for you. Either way, we need to get back to HQ immediately.”

“Told you! But why do we have to go so suddenly? Shouldn’t we check up on them?”

Zero shook his head. “No time. Red Alert’s launched a full frontal assault.”


	5. Working Order

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which everyone is tired and Axl desperately needs sleep. Too bad Red Alert's on the move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy. Its a little bit of a break chapter! Still some plot, but blessedly no action scenes. Overall, Axl is just not having a good time. Someone get this boy a nap!

The Hunter HQ was in disarray when Axl and Zero arrived. People were scrambling through the transport and cargo bay. As Zero led him through the bay, Axl could see vehicles of all kind being loaded. He couldn’t really stop and look at anything, since he was almost sprinting to keep up with Zero. Damn him and his stilt legs.  
“Commander Zero!”  
Zero abruptly stopped right in front of Axl, who nearly ran into the Hunter. Another Hunter approached the two, with their eyes locked on Zero. “Commander Signas and X have requested you come to the Command Room.” Zero nodded and sighed. As Axl was about to follow him, the new Hunter stopped him. “They have requested him. Alone.” They coldly stressed. Any retort was met with a hand wave from Zero.  
“He’s a part of this mess, so he’s coming. ‘Sides, he’ll just break into the room otherwise.”  
The other Hunter didn’t look pleased, but went along with it. “Alright. I will escort you both to the Command Room, then.” 

The sterile white walls of interior burned Axl’s optics. Coupled with the unholy bright lights and his lack of recharging, Axl could feel a migraine building. The halls echoed with the trio’s every footstep, unnervingly quiet. If Axl didn’t know any better, he might’ve thought he was walking to his execution. The other Hunter’s accusatory looks didn’t really help, nor did Zero’s complete apathy. The only two reasons that Axl was confident that he wouldn’t be shot dead was that he was a former high ranking Red Alert member with good information. He was also fairly certain that the Hunters shied away from extrajudicial killings in plain sight.  
The assassin came out of his exhausted reverie just in time. The other Hunter led them to a large door taking up the whole area. Before they let the duo through, they turned back to face Zero. “As per regulation, I’m going to Reploid Serial Code.”  
“Yeah. DWN-Infinity.” Zero said.  
The other Hunter nodded and then turned to Axl. Shit. He gave a nervous laugh and put his hands on his hips. “Uh, well, I don’t exactly...know my serial.” He admitted.  
The other Hunter looked stunned, while Zero grew pissed. “Kid, this isn’t the time for tricks.”  
“It’s not a trick! Look, I’ve been suffering with some retrograde amnesia for awhile and-”  
The other Hunter let an exasperated noise and shook their head. “Can you at least give me something?”  
“Will a direct comms code work?”  
They nodded tiredly. “As long as you can confirm it.”  
“Sure. It’s 420.193-001.RRF” A ping suddenly appeared in Axl’s comms directory, which he responded to with another ping. Finally, the Hunter nodded again and opened the door.

By some mercy or grace, the Command Room was dim, though that may have something to do with the large holographic map taking up the entire front wall. In front of the map stood the grey Reploid, X, and Alia. They were all talking quietly in their cluster. None of them paid attention to Zero entering the room. Axl followed behind at a slower pace, taking in the empty room. Computer desks sat opposite of the map, all arranged in a neat semicircle facing it. All the monitors were off, except for one. Three long steps led to the lower part of the room, creating something akin to a conversation pit. Aside from Zero’s footsteps and the quiet murmurs, the whole room was silent.  
Of course, Zero reached them first. None of them seemed to be startled when he walked up, and carried on their conversation. Axl hung back by the desks. He could tell they didn’t want him in their talk. They were huddled together, facing each other in a half circle. Even Zero had turned towards the map, not sparing a glance to the assassin. Well, that was fine. Axl gave a slight grin, and jacked up his aural amplification.  
“Still no sign of any movement. Its like they’ve just staged for something. There aren’t any reports of Maverick activity yet.” Said a feminine voice. Must be Alia.  
“Strange. Perhaps Axl will know what they’re up to.” Came the reply. The voice was deeper than X’s, but less gruff than Zero’s. Gotta be that commander the hunter mentioned, Signas.  
“I’m not allowing him to get involved. You know as well as I do that his suggestion is going to be going in guns blazing. The amount of casualties that will come from that will be astronomical, and I doubt he’s even considered that.” Ah, there was X.  
“Not quite. Kid was slow, but he apparently rescued quite a few civilians. He’s pretty crafty too. Got caught by some Mechaniloids, and I thought he deserted. Then I turn around, and I catch a glimpse of one of ‘em offing another. Thought it was just me, but it kept happening. Next thing I know, it drops dead, and he comes barreling in, firing at the last of them. Didn’t do shit, but I finished them off. Really didn’t think much of it until we got back. I don’t know how, but Axl did something to those Mavericks to get them to attack each other.” Zero’s limited praise should not have been as encouraging as it was.  
“To get Mechaniloids to attack each other like that… Some sort of comm recognition jam?” asked Alia. Zero only shrugged back at her. That was an interesting suggestion, and one Axl tucked away for later. It would definitely be useful if he could pull it off.  
“Wait, what do you mean he rescued civilians?” Zero shrugged again, this time at X.  
“Like I said, he lagged behind. When I asked him what took so long, he said he was busy helping people out.”  
“And you’re sure he wasn’t lying?”  
Alia cut in. “He doesn’t appear to be, X. A lot of rescued civilians described Axl to a T. Some even mentioned him by name.”  
“Axl’s honesty isn’t our main priority right now. Alia, can you narrow down where the Mavericks are concentrated? If they aren’t out attacking, that might mean that they’re rallying around their leaders.”  
“Of course, Commander Signas, but I’m afraid it won’t do much good if we don’t know who’s leading them. All of Red Alert’s top members are surprisingly tight lipped.”  
“Mm. Let’s hope Axl’s not.” Zero grumbled, turning towards Axl. “Hey, kid. Come over here.”  
Axl suppressed a flinch, turning his auditory sensors down while walking over. “What’s up?” He nonchalantly asked.  
“You claimed to be one of Red Alert’s top assassins, correct?” Signas received a nod. “Then I suppose you have information on their other high-ranking members?”  
“Sure I do, though you probably wanna look in to Red’s inner circle. If anyone’s leading anything, it’d be us.” Axl advised. Everyone looked at him as he finished.  
Alia broke the silence. “You were part of Red Alert’s inner circle?”  
“Yep! Trained by most of them, too. Almost all of Red’s circle were founding members, but not all of them fought. Gotta have someone doing logistics and repairs.”  
“Names, Axl. Get to it.”  
“Yeesh, fine. Let’s see… theres Soldier Stonekong, Vanishing Gungaroo, Tornado Tonion, Snipe Anteater, Wind Crowrang, Splash Warfly, Ride Boarsky, Flame Hyenard, Cyclone Red obviously, and me!”  
“What, no fancy name?” Zero sarcastically asked.  
“Oh no, most of us had a field name and our real name. Mine was Shadow Copycat. Unlike everyone else, I didn’t take my actual name and slapped another noun in front of it. ‘Course, I earned some other nicknames too,” Axl tiredly rambled.  
“Back on track, Axl.” Signas said. “Any ideas on where they could be?”  
“Uh, besides the Crimson Palace? No clue. We could go of their naming themes, but I feel like they would switch it up just to spite us. Each of them were in charge of a specific group, though, so we’ll probably know as soon as we get there.”  
It wasn’t a satisfying answer, but Axl didn’t have much more than his own speculations. As the conversation lulled, he remembered something. “That reminds me. Early on Red was pretty worried about what would happen if someone up top went Maverick. Everyone was kinda too strong to just kill with brute force, so we came up with a plan. We all decided that everyone would partner up for missions, and you would partner with the person who you were weak against. That way, if one of us ever went Maverick, they could be dealt with quickly.” A foreboding, choking feeling crawled up Axl’s throat. He swallowed it back down, leaving it for later. “We all were weak to someone’s attacks. Which means if we use their partner’s attacks, we’ll deal with them faster.”  
Signas nodded approvingly. “Don’t suppose you remember what that order is.”  
Axl flashed him a fatigued smile. “Yeah. Should probably start with Stonekong first. Hell, we might even be able to talk him down.” None of their faces looked optimistic about that. Whatever, that wasn’t going to stop him from trying. “Next there’s Tonion, who’s weak to Stonekong. Warfly’s weak to Tonion, Hyenard’s weak to Warfly, Boarsky’s weak to Hyenard, Anteater’s weak to Boarsky, Crowrang’s weak to Anteater, Gungaroo’s weak to Crowrang, and Stonekong is weak to Gungaroo.”  
Signas’ brow furrowed. “If everyone’s weak to everyone else, then where’s yours? We need to know beforehand, so we aren’t surprised when they show up. It isn’t Red, I take it?”  
“They, uh, aren’t here anymore. They won’t show up, promise.” Axl muttered.  
Signas hummed uncertainly, before speaking up again. “We need to start planning, in case they make a move. However, we have no idea who is holed up in what area. Presently, we’ll send a recon team out to find any important information. Is there anything else that needs to be discussed?”  
No one said anything until Axl tried to stifle a yawn. “Not to be rude, but is there any way I can get a recharge bay, or at least an E-tank? I haven’t recharged in, like, a week.”  
“How are you still standing?” Alia disbelievingly asked.  
“Mix of E-Tanks, injectables, and preservation mode.” Axl replied, miserable.  
The woman shook her head. “Yeah, okay. Our barracks are at 75% capacity, so I can put one under your Serial Code.” She was already walking towards one of the active desks.  
“Kid said he doesn’t remember his.”  
She gave Axl a flat look. “How do you forget your own Serial Code.”  
“It’s complicated, and involves a lot of being crushed under things.”  
Alia seemed unconvinced. She sighed and motioned Axl over. “Alright, just open your interface and I’ll find it for you.” Axl blinked. He walked over to Alia and sat on a nearby desk chair. Popping open the small hatch on the back of his neck, he took the cable and plugged it into his port. Instantly, he could feel someone accessing his data banks. ‘This is a lot more uncomfortable than I remember,’ he thought wearily. After a minute, she gave him the go ahead to eject and unplug. Axl closed his interface and rubbed his neck. Alia, on the other hand, was staring at his Serial Code. Her expression was somewhere between disbelief and dark suspicion.  
She finally spoke after a minute. “Right. Your Serial Code is DCRGNGN-001RRF. I also took the liberty of setting up a Navigation comms between you and HQ. Use it whenever you’re on a mission and you need to get in contact with us.”  
Axl nodded back. It was strange that his Serial Code was that long, but he was too tired to really think about it further. He barely reacted when Alia handed him a key card. “Your room is number 58 in Barrack L. You can teleport there when you get outside.”  
“Thanks, Alia.” He took it carefully, and made his way to the door. Before he left, he mustered up as much formality as he could, which wasn’t much. “Have a good night, Commanders.” Right, because they were his bosses now. Great.

Axl quickly managed to find his way outside his new stay. The barracks weren’t much to look at, and neither was Axl’s room. Really, the room was about half the size of a studio apartment. To the left most wall sat an open recharging bay, complete with a simple pillow and thin blanket. Whatever, it wasn’t like he was gonna get cold in there. The rest of the tiny room was empty, aside from a small cabinet and wardrobe.  
After simply standing in the doorway for a second, Axl entered and closed the door behind him. An almost crushing weight of finality hit him when he sat on the edge of the bay. Here he was, almost officially becoming a Maverick Hunter, about to set off to murder his entire family after their leader had gone crazy. If only that were true. Actually, Red hadn’t even acted that unusual, even after Platine’s death. It was only after that smug ‘professor’ bastard came around that Red started sending him out on homicide missions. Or worse, missions that Red didn’t tell him about.  
The worst part was that he could’ve fixed it. He knew he just needed to get at that professor, and he knew they had set their sights on him. If he could’ve just got to his safe house, he could have lured them to mobilize Red Alert. Without Red around to guard them, or anyone else to talk Axl down, he could have killed them and saved everyone else. But no, he just had to get caught by Maverick Hunter Zero of all people. Then he had to be dragged to their base, and get himself roped into helping them. A lot of what he told Signas was true. He really was leaving Red Alert, after he killed the professor. He couldn’t stand looking Red in the eye again, and he couldn’t deal with the fighting anymore. However, he wasn’t about to let some jack-ass Hunters kill them. They deserved better.  
The assassin briefly thought about telling the Hunters about the mysterious professor, but ruled it out. Best case scenario: X kept his mouth shut, the Hunters used their number to distract Red Alert and pull the guards away from the Palace, Axl and Zero kill or subdue Red, and Axl puts as many casings as he can fit into that bastard’s face. Highly optimistic. On the other hand, they might think he wasn’t up to fight, or that he was trying to shield Red. It could undercut all of his tenuous credibility and trust with the Hunters. Then, they’d either kill him or strip him of all of his weapons, then put him in prison. Not ideal.  
This was hopeless. Here Axl was, on the verge of collapsing into a tearful sleep, with his thoughts rampaging like a tempest in his mind. He made some sort of noise, maybe a sob or a word, and laid down. Blessedly, the recharging bay connected to his core immediately, engaging his shutdown routine. Tears spilled onto his pillow anyways. He wished he had Platine. He wished he had Red. He wished that he could feel secure and safe again. He wished he could hear Gungaroo’s childish arguments with Stonekong. He wished Anteater was teaching him about encryption keys again. He wished his stupid shutdown routine would hurry the hell up.

Mostly, he wished he had someone on his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm afraid this chapter got a bit ramble-y by the end, but I think it fits. Bonus 10 points if anyone can figure out what Axl's code means. Of course, it follows the same format as everyone else's Serial Code/Number, but don't stress over it too much! As always, please don't be afraid to comment! :^)


	6. Gone Global

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red Alert's settled in. Only thing to do now is to kick them out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for this chapter being late. I'll be honest, this was a hard chapter to write, and I've rewritten this about three times now. It's just kind of an in between chapter with some small plot stuff, and it wasn't too interesting to write. What was interesting, though, was figuring out where all of the bosses are located! Some of them aren't entirely accurate, but I did my best to keep them in the same general area. Most of them are also actual places, or at least based on similar places, like the Bweengwa River Geothermal Plant.

_Shutdown Time – 7:23.57 AM  
Startup Time – 15:44.38 PM  
Fully Charged_

The recharging cord retracted from Axl’s cord with a faint ‘pop’. Axl sat himself up and groaned, languidly stretching out. Despite being a bit groggy, he was feeling better than he had been all week. He had shelter and easy access to a recharging bay. He still might be on his own, but finally getting some sleep was enough to boost his mood. Sure, it wasn’t an ideal situation, but Axl had faith that he’d figure something out.  
Eventually kicking himself out of his post-sleep daze, Axl got up and opened a second door. It was a bathroom. He smiled in relief. It was simple, with only some cabinets, a sink, and a shower. He found a set of towels in one of the cabinets, along with some soap. Axl nearly started vibrating in excitement.  
Axl finished clicking his armor back on. It needed cleaning as well, but it wasn’t like he had anything to clean it with. He opened his arm guards, revealing the large compartments hidden in them. Out came his music player, a small gun maintenance kit, and a small datapad. In went his Bullets, fitting perfectly into the compartments. Speaking of his stuff, he really needed to get the rest of his supplies. Not much was in his safe house, and anything that was would be fine there. His bag, on the other hand, wasn’t something he was comfortable going without.  
His thoughts were interrupted by an incoming call.  
“Axl?”  
“Alia?”  
“Axl, we need you to come to the Command Room immediately. Red Alert’s on the move. They've started taking over major areas across the globe!”  
“Really? Yeah I’ll be there soon!” That was was fast. Almost _too_ fast. “Alia, you still there? Something about this is kinda fishy.”  
“Yes? What is it?”  
“Doesn’t this seem really sudden? I mean, I left Red Alert at like 3 this morning, Red makes war about an hour after that, and they have Mavericks in the city by sunrise? That’s way too fast to move that many mavericks, not to mention an entire organization.”  
“Hmm. You have a point, it’s very suspicious that they had people on the ground so soon. We’ll talk more about it when you get here. What’s your ETA?”  
“’Bout a minute, I’m in the hallway now!”  
True to his word, Axl was in the Command Room soon after. It was brightly lit, with more Navigators at their monitors. Alia, Signas, X, and Zero were gathered at the wall map again. The head Navigator saw him in the doorway and motioned him over.  
“There you are.” Signas said. The other two turned to Axl, who greeted them with a wave.  
“Signas, Axl mentioned something interesting on our call. Axl?”  
“Oh yeah. So I was thinking, isn’t it weird that they can move so fast? That’s a lot of Mavericks to move all at once. I only left this morning, and now they’re out in force.”  
“They’re an entire vigilante organization. It doesn’t seem so strange that they’d spread out this quickly.” X chimed in.  
“Red Alert might be an organization, but we don’t have these kinds of resources. You guys have more resources, and you can’t move nearly as fast as they are. ‘Sides, isn’t weird that they have an entire stockpile of Mavericks that they just let loose? Last time I checked, standard procedure is to decommission them ASAP, and Red Alert was no different. It’s not even been 24 hours, and they aren’t even using the entirety of Red Alert!”  
“What’s your point, kid?” Zero muttered.  
“My point is that Red Alert was prepared for this. I left at about 3 AM today, and by sunrise they had Mavericks in Abel City. As we were scrambling to deal with that, Red Alert mobilizes their entire force across the world? No way that this was a split-second decision. They were gonna wage war eventually, I just gave them an excuse.” X gave Axl a sour look. “I’m not excusing what I’ve done, okay! But you gotta admit this is weird.”  
“It is strange, I’ll give you that, but why didn’t you know about this?”  
Axl grimaced. “Red’s been pretty tight-lipped recently. We got in a fight over a mission, and he’s been acting really suspicious ever since. He’s been keeping me off of missions, and he refuses to tell me anything about whatever’s going on.”  
“You two had a fight so bad he started withholding information from you? Just what was it about?” X asked.  
“Do we really have time for this?” Axl whined.  
“Afraid not,” Alia said. “It looks like Red Alert’s settled into their bases. Reports of Maverick attacks are coming in from all over the world!”  
“Where are they coming from, Alia?” Signas asked.  
“Soldier Stonekong has been sighted in a forested area of the Djebel Babor Nature Reserve in Algeria. Snipe Anteater has infiltrated a Cybersecurity field in India. Splash Warfly has taken over a fleet of battleships in the North Pacific. Wing Crowrang has also taken a fleet of airships currently flying over the Atlantic Ocean. Hyenard has seized the Bweengwa River Geothermal Plant in Zambia. Tornado Tonion has taken control of Tokyo Tower, and Vanishing Gungaroo has seized Canadian Forces Base Gagetown.”  
Axl let out a low whistle. No one shot him any looks, too focused on the disaster in front of them. He heard X giving a suggestion to withdraw any Hunters still in those areas, and Signas mentioning something about logistics. He let the chatter lapse before rolling his shoulders back.  
“Well, I guess we should get working, yeah?” Axl suggested.  
“How can you be so casual about this?” X heatedly asked. He got a shrug in return.  
“What else are we gonna do? Red Alert’s already gone on the offensive, and there’s no way we can talk them down now. Best we can do is take ‘em out as fast as we can and keep people safe, I guess.”  
X shook his head in disapproval. Beside him, Zero huffed a laugh.  
“Alright, kid. You ready?”  
“Yeah! We should probably fight Stonekong first. If one of us can distract him, the other can attack him from behind.”  
“Sure. Alia?”  
“You’ve got it. I’ll get the transporter loaded for the Nature Reserve. Good luck, you two!”


End file.
